Rotary explosive-engine



W. E-. LEIBING.

ROTARY EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-14, 1911.

1 ,309,096.- Patonted July 8, 1919.

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ATTORNE Y8 A TTORNE Y9 W. E. LEIBING.

ROTARY EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4. 1911.

Patent-ed July 8, 1919.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- INVENTOR. 212 BY f MW 0% A TTORNE YS.

W. E. LEIBING. ROTARY EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

APPLlCATlON HLED DEC-14,1917.

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I UNITED STATES, PATENT OFFICE. v

WILLIAM E. LEIBING, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO ANTON WEBER, AND ONE-THIRD T JOHN D. GARRETSON, BOTH OE OAKLAND,

CALIFORNIA.

ROTARY EXPLOSIVE-ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 8, 1919.

Application filed December 14, 1917. Serial No. 207,032.

. is a specification.

The present invention relates to rotary en ines of the internal combustion type.

he object of the invention is to provide,

- in. such an engine, means for positively op cured together, and supported by a base crating the valves or abutments, to cause them to closely follow the surface of the rotating'piston, even at very high speeds. It has been found in practice that such valves cannot be successfully operated by nieans of springs, for the reason that, on account of tie necessary weight of the parts and the speed at which they must operate, their inertia cannot be overcome inthe requisite period of time by springs, and that therefore the valves do not properly follow the piston.

With this and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter described in its preferred form, but it is to be understood that changes, within the scopeof the claims hereto appended, may be made in the form and construction of the machine without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In order to more fully comprehend the invention, reference should be had to the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of my rotary ig. 2 is a side elevation, with one side plate removed, showing the interior of the .cylinder and the piston and valves therein.

Fi 3 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig.2, and viewed in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4: is a sectional detail, enlarged, of the by-pass and valve therefor.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail, enlarged, of a portion of one of the valves, showmg the metal packing member in the side edge thereof.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates the cylinder of the engine, the

same being preferably composed of a peripheral ringi portion 2, and side cover lates 3 and 4, sai three parts being suitab y se- A rotor 6 is mounted within said cylinder 1, upon a shaft 7 passing centrally through said side plates 3 and 4, and being suitably journaled therein, as shown at 8 in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The rotor 6, which is of a width sufficient to fill the cylinder 1 axially, has a radial piston portion 9, Fig. 2 of the drawings, adapted to travel in close relation to the inner surface of the peripheral cylinder wall 2. Swinging abutments or valves 10,

' 10, 10 and 10. carried by transversely disposed shafts 11, 11", 11 and 11 respectively, are adapted to lie against and follow closely the peripheral surface of the rotor 6. e

As shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, pockets 12 12, 12, and 12 are formed in the peripheral cylinder wall 2, within which the respective valves 10, 10, 10 and 10 may retreat to permit passage of the piston 9, and to .form a smooth surface upon which said piston rides. Said valves, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, are the full width of the cylinder, and are provided with metallic packing members 13 in their side edges; Said packing members are preferably formed of flat strips of metal, set into a groove formed in the edge of the valve,

and slotted as shown at 14 in Fig. 5, to provide-the necessary resiliency.

The valves are operated by means of cams 15, 15 and 15, Fig. 3 of the drawings,

fixed to the projecting ends of the rotor.

shaft 7. The cams 15 and 15, Figs. 1 and 3, positioned adjacent each other upon one end of said shaft, respectively operate the valves 10 and 10 by means of tappets 16 and 16, slidably carried in suitable lugs or brackets 17 and 17 extending from the cylinder wall 3. Rollers 18 and 18 are preferabl provided in the ends of said tappets to 0 low said cams. The other ends of said tappets carry adjusting screws 19 and 19, whose heads are adapted to bear against and actuate lever arms 20 and 20, extending from the valve shafts 11 and 11 respectively. v A spring 21, surrounds the tappet 16, and acts thereupon in the same direction as the cam 15, that is to holdthe valve 10 in contact with the surface of the rotor 6. It is to be noted that the valve 10 is heldin contact with the surface of the rotor 6 by its cam 15, a depression 22 in the surface of said cam permitting said valve to ride over the piston 9, whereas the valve i6 is moved out of contact with the rotor surface by its cam the low portion 22 of said cam permittin said valve to move against said rotor sur ace. Said valve 10, when held away from the rotor surface by its cam 15,

I 18, and adjusting screws 19' and 19 the tion of the sprin latter bearing against lever arms 20 and 20 extending from the valve shafts ll and 11, Both of said tappets are provided with s rings 21 and 21 respectively, acting in t e same direction as the cam The valves l0 and 10 are thus held in contact with the rotor surface by the cam 15, the depression 22 therein permitting said valves to ride over the piston In this connection it should be stated that the func- 21, 2i and 21", surrounding their respective tappets, is merely to hold the valves 10 10 and 10- in close contact with the rotor surface, even in the event of some looseness or play between the cam and the valve. Said springs are not relied upon tor movin the valves inwardly after the passage of t e piston 9, this movement being positively accomplished by the cams.

A byass 25, Fig. l of the drawings, is provide around the valve 10', for conductmg gas from the upper portion of the cylinder into the combustion chamber 23. Said by-pass is controlled by a check valve 26, held to its seat by a spring 27, said sprin actingagainst the stem 28 of said cheo valve, within a suitable guide member 29. The check valve, as will be readily understood, prevents the gas from passing back into the upper portion of the cylinder. Apertures 30 are provided in said combustion chamber 23, through which the gas therein may be fired by any Well known means, not shown in the drawings, as, for example, a spark plug of the common type.

i The operation of the engine may be described as follows Assumin that the rotor t3 rotates in the direction 0 the arrow in 2 of he drawings, after the piston 9 has passed valve 10, and during the travel from said valve 10' to the valve l0", a charge of unburned gas is drawn in to the portion of the cylinder 1 through a car reter indicated at 31, in Fig. l, and an i e elre passa "e 32. During this travel piston 9, t is valve 10 is held in contact the rotor naoaoee surface by its cam 15 thus cutting oh the upper portion of the cylinder 1 from the lower portion thereof, and after the piston has passed the valve l0 the charge of raw gas is entrained within the upper portion of the cylinder 1, remaining therein during the next half revolution of the rotor. When the piston 9 again passes the valve 10, and begins to draw in a second new charge, the first charge of as contained within the upper portion 0 the cylinder 1 is compressed by the advancing piston 9, and is forced through the check valve 26 and the by-pass 25 into the combustion chamber 23, the valve 10 being held to its seat by its cam 15.

The first charge of unburned gas is now compressed withln the combustion chamber 23, being retained therein by the check valve 26 and the cam actuated valve 10.

Immediately after the piston passes the valve 10, the charge within the combustion chamber 23 is ignited, by an means not shown in the drawings,,and the expansion thereof causes the valve 10 to open and to lie closely along the rotor surface behind the piston 9; and the pressure of this gas on the rear of said piston 9, causes the same to travel in the direction of the arrow toward the valve 10 thus imparting a power impulse to the rotor. When said valve'lll is reached by said piston, an exhaust port 33 is uncovered, and the remaining burned gases are allowed to exhaust therethrough. Upon the next revolution of the rotor, the lower portion of the cylinder 1 is scavenged of the spent gases oi the first charge by the advancin piston 9 during its second power stroke. hus, it requires three revolutions of the rotor to complete onecycle of operation, the admission occurring on the first revolution, the compression and expansion on the second, and the exhaust on the third; but on account of the overlapping of the cycles, a new cycle is begun at every revclution, so that one power impulse occurs due in every revolution,

liar mg thus described my What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is l, A rotary engine comprising a cylinder, a shaft rotatably and arially mounted respect to said cylinder, a rotor carried by said shaft within sa c linder, a radial piston carried by said i tor, means for admitting gas to said cylinder and discharging the same therefrom, a pair of valves adapted to coact with said rotor and said piston to form a suction and compression chamber in the upper portion of said c linder, another pair of valves adapted to co-act with said rotor to form an expansion exhaust chamber in the lower portion of said cylinder, means for controlling the in once of the compressedgas from the upper to the lower portions of said cylinder, and mechanism actuated by said rotor for operating said valves.

2. A rotary engine comprising a a shaft rotatably and axially mounted with respect to said cylinder, a rotor carried by said shaft within said cylinder, a radial piston carried by said rotor, means for admitting gas to said cylinder and discharging the same therefrom, a pair of valves adapted to co-act with said rotor and said piston to form a suction and com ression chamber in the upper portion of said cylinder, another pair of valves adapted to co-act with said rotor to form an expansion and exhaust chamber in the lower portion of said cylinder, and said cylinder having a by-pass between said upper and lower portions, a check-valve in said by-pass, and means actuated by said rotor for actuating the valves co-acting with said rotor.

3. A rotary engine comprising a cylinder having a gas inlet opening in its upper portion, a gas outlet opening in its lower portion, and a combustion chamber between cylinder,

said upper and lower portions, a rotor within said cylinder, a radial piston carried by said rotor, a pairof valves co-acting with said rotor to form a suction and compression chamber in the upper portion of said cylinder, mechanism for causing said valves to maintain positive contact with the rotor sur face, a check-valve for permitting gas to pass into said combustion chamber from the upper portion of said cylinder, a second pair of valves coacting with said piston to form an expansion and exhaust chamber in the lower portion of said cylinder, and mechanism-actuated by said rotor to cause one of the last mentioned valves to close said combustion chamber from said lower cylinder portion during the compression of the gas in the former.

In testimony whereof I have signed myname to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM E. LEIBING. Witnesses:

HARRY A. ToT'rEN, D. B. Ric. 

